Pennsylvania teen wins $250,000 for solving geometry problem

Connor Hill, a 17-year-old from Port Matilda, Pennsylvania, has won the top $250,000 prize at the 2026 Regeneron Science Talent Search. He wrote a computer algorithm to classify noble polyhedra, a rare group of three-dimensional shapes with high symmetry. His work identified two infinite structural families and exactly 146 isolated examples, completing a classification that mathematicians had been working toward for years.

The Times of India reports that Hill converted the geometry problem into algebraic and polynomial equations, allowing his program to reduce it to a finite set of possibilities. He told Regeneron: 'By translating the problem into a different mathematical framework, I could narrow it down to a finite set that could actually be solved.' His interest began through an online geometry community where the classification was discussed as an open challenge.

Second place and $175,000 went to Edward Kang, 17, of New Jersey for an AI retinal screening tool. Third place and $150,000 went to Iris Shen, 17, of Texas for blood cancer research using clams. More than $1.8 million was awarded to 40 finalists. Hill plans to attend MIT this autumn to study computational mathematics, according to the Economic Times.